NEW VOTING INCENTIVE! 20th ANNIVERSARY BONUS COMIC!
That’s right! Puck marks its 20th anniversary this September! Twenty years ago this comic began publishing in the McMaster Silhouette! Some of you weren’t even alive back then! To celebrate, I’ve put up a bonus comic strip this month which serves as a little homage to the very first Puck comic. Vote for Puck on TWC to check it out!
VOTE FOR PUCK TO SAY, “TWENTY YEARS? HOLY S#$%, YOU’RE OLD!!!
As for this comic…
I will admit that I’ve kind of been itching to change Daphne’s hair for a while. I didn’t mind the pigtails, and I thought the look suited her, but one factor of the old hairdo was always a problem: Daphne’s lack of human ears. The wolf ears mean that there’s just this weird, unadorned expanse on the side of her head, and no matter how I drew it, it always looked a little funny. This longer hair look masks that.
So this new look might stick around for a while even after the prom is over. Or it may not. Really, my actions and directions are sometimes a mystery even to me.
The hair looks fine. And that’s the outfit you should wear to the prom, Daphne.
Obviously for phoebes sake a designer towel.
Just a towel? Well, it would get people talking, at least.
It does look better than the other dresses. And it shows nearly as much skin.
She’ll definitely get picked up by Zaphod.
While Arthur is chatting her up.
I like it.
Good!
Me likey too.
Well, it seems the score is about 90% for, 10% against. I can live with that.
Insert unadorned joke about short hair here.
Short hair?
Have they got her by them?
“Me was a total non-starter” = Daphne has more self-awareness than I was aware of?
—
I love the hair (and like how it helps with the ear problem, similar to Phoebe’s horns problem) but are one or both of the ‘rents gonna have a crisis when they see that their little girl is getting all grown up? Hilarity ensues.
I don’t think Puck and Colin are going to have a problem with this. I feel that both of them only ever put very tentative irons in that fire. They love Daphne, and are pseudo-parents to Daphne, but there’s a certain distance there. They weren’t changing her diapers or anything. Now when Miranda goes off to prom, it might be a very different story…
… Daphne is, to continue the metaphor here, barking up the wrong tree altogether.
She had Tyler/Taylor bent right round her little finger for the longest time, but over-played her hand (or more correctly, failed to understand which game she was playing) and someone else scooped the pot.
He doesn’t get much characterisation, but I get the impression that he is quite handsome and has the sort of polite, diffident personality which dominant girls are attracted to at times.
Everything that you say here shows a powerful understanding of the dynamics at play. You win the ‘insightful comment of the week’ award.
No, I have a daughter; been there, done that..
Maybe she can meet a Rottweiler or a Irish wolfhound that would be a better fit for her.
I’ll admit it, it looks nice. Daphne’s gone from coyote to fennec. ^_^
…That’s an improvement?
Fiona Fennec, “Kevin & Kell”?
It’s all in the ears with her.
Fennec fox, actually. ^_^
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fennec_fox#/media/File:Fennec_Fox_Vulpes_zerda.jpg
Fennecs look very stylish. ^_^
Oy. I never noticed the side-skull weirdness of Daphne’s ears until it was brought up just now. Now I can never unsee it.
And because I’m looking really hard at the new hairdo from a 3D anatomy perspective, I can see that in order for the hair to lie and fall the way it does, the hair has to pass through the lower back of her ears.
Honestly, I think the only possible solution to making the anatomy and the aesthetics both workable is big loose curls and waves that can both go around her canine ears while still covering her lack of human ears.
…or you could just shrug and say “Whatevs!” and never mention it again, and 99% of the readers (which is probably the amount that don’t read the comments) will never be the wiser. After all, most people never realize that Mickey Mouse’s ears are always facing the camera, no matter how he turns his head. (And now you’ll never be able to unsee that.)
Eh, when you read as many comic or watch tv shows with as many anthropomorphic characters as I do, you kinda ignore that weirdness about ear position. Besides, drawn human ears can look very weird as well (which is also why many artists use non humans in their works). Everyone knows what ears look like, but ears are hard to draw, you go overly detailed, or not detailed enough, you enter uncanny valley territory and weird out your audience. In contrast, animal ears are easy, as with non humans you don’t risk uncanny valleys much, and you have more features for emotions.
If you really want to weird yourself out about animal ears on human acting animals, look up Ann Gora from the old SWAT Kats cartoon and ask yourself; What are her “earrings” attached to?
Human ears ARE sometimes a bit of a problem. The key is to not overthink them. Though getting them at the right height on the head can be a little bit of a pain.
The hair/ear thing is what we refer to in the drawing world as a ‘cheat’. The two lines are far enough away that unless the viewer is studying it, they won’t notice that they don’t entirely line up. I just thought it looked better.
It *does* look better. And almost everyone that is not trained as an artist is not going to even get a glimmer that there might be a “problem” unless it is pointed out to them. And most of those who do notice are not going to sweat it, since most trained artists know all about cheats, and what they are needed for.
I only noticed and spoke up because (1) you brought up the subject of awkward anatomy first, and (2) I am trained as a 3D modeler, so I am *acutely* attuned to when 2D models are unrealizable in 3D space. Creating Daphne as a 3D model would actually be easier with the old hair, which had the added bonus of being largely one non-deforming object with two boned objects attached on back, and a few bangs which could be rendered out fairly easily as either a few mostly transparent surfaces with some hair decals, or as actually generated hair, depending on how close she gets to the camera and if she is a game model or a cinematic model.
Of course, in any circumstance where one would attempt to create her in 3D, they’d need to know exactly how furry she is and where. With the flat shading that you do, any surface details are left for the reader’s imagination to fill in. (This is not a criticism. This is only an observation. Flat shading is a valid artistic choice, and with this strip’s density of other details, volumetric shading could easily make everything look busy. But I digress…) But the fact remains that we have no idea if she has fur or just khaki skin tone (and hairless ears?).
You only ever see slight hints in certain shots that Daphne has fur. Little licks of hair sometimes stick out at her elbows or knees, or sometimes at her cheekbones. (Note the elbows in this strip’s panel 4.) But like with the hair, this is largely dependent on what ‘looks right’. When I first started drawing Daphne’s redesign (around strip #88), I was a bit more liberal with the fur, but I quickly realized that it looked weird. So I dialed way back on trying to actually draw the fur, and instead left it to imagination.
I am very envious of your 3D modeling skills. I dearly wish I could generate 3D models of my characters (particularly the heads) for reference, but I lack the skills. Maybe one day.
She looks awesome with pony, Just letting it wild, and straightened…I’m so conflicted. Do I agree or disagree with her?
I’m not sure either.
Might I suggest a slightly shorter and wavier hairstyle after this arc? It might make her face look rounder.
@Lokitsu
Don’t you like the little FANGS at her shoulders ?
Hair (anyone’s hair) should either be longer or shorter IMO. Hair that just brushes the shoulders, especially straight hair, bugs the hell out of me for some reason.
Well, sorry to offend your particular hair sensibilities.
Glad you noticed that. I thought it looked was a nice little nod to her canid roots.
*FANGS at her shoulders*
Now that you mention it, her hair has become generally smooth and more grown-up, yet still a sharp and pointy in several places. Emblematic of character development?
Very.
Well, that might be a possibility. Everything always comes down to the true arbiter of hairstyles, though: how easy it is to draw.
Considering that this whole thing is “self actualising”, it’s nice to see a bit of characterisation here, indicating that Daphne may realise that who she is is not completely who she wants to be. And that at some point she has to grow up and change.
I don’t know. If I may quote a wise man: Growing up leads to growing old, and then to dying, and dying to me doesn’t sound like all that much fun.
You can be an adult, almost have to, but fight growing up with everything you got. Remember, it only took Picasso four years to learn to paint like Michelangelo, but a lifetime to learn to paint like a child.
Well, ‘growing up’ doesn’t lead to death. It’s the ‘growing down’ part that does that. Up until around 24, a kid is growing up in the encouraging, fun, exciting ways. After that, it’s downhill. And that’s when birthdays become much less fun.
And always remember the words of another wise man:
“Whats the point in growing up if you can’t be childish sometimes?”
The Fourth Doctor.
The best doctor. Doctoring is all about the scarf.
Well, I’m not sure what we’re witnessing here is true self-actualization. You can’t self-actualize in pursuit of vengeance. Or a guy. Or the pursuit of vengeance through the pursuit of a guy. But self-actualization may occur in this story arc, semi-accidentally.
Hm, I’m not sure about keeping her hair straight. I liked her previous look, but I also know that if the last strip was any indication, for her to keep her hair THIS straight, it would mean restraightening it every time she showers, or it rains, or there’s hgh humidity. Otherwise it’s poof and frizz town. It’s a slavery I’m not sure someone like Daphne would willingly submit herself to, although there’s a lot of comic potential in that (though I’m not sure how fresh this potential is).
Or maybe I’m projecting.
Well, that’s a point. My wife, though, has hair a lot like Daphne’s – in that it’s rather curly in its natural state, and she wears it straight, just like this. And she’s submitted herself to the slavery of straightening it for decades, without complaint, because she likes the look. Daphne might rise to the challenge.
Or maybe not. Again, I’m not sure what’s going to happen in the Daphne hair world future.
ok, now that her unruly locks are under iron control – pun totally intended – lets move on to the colour. subtle blonde highlights and/or darker brown lowlights? or an allover reddish tinge?
Nah, no color. Her hair’s fine. The blonde highlight/dark lowlights thing has never been a look I’ve approved of, and there’s already too much ginger in this comic.
Congratulatiions, Daphne! You’ve just grown up!
(At least in appearance.) 😉
I want to note right now when a take on your statement shows up in next week’s comic that I am not copying you. It’s just that great minds think alike.
Doggone it! I thought I was making a take on you! (Just kidding.)
I would feel sad if Daphne started acting like a mature, sophisticated adult. Or at least if such behavior became permanent.
Any way Daphne could keep this “Under Wraps” until Prom Nite ?
The surprise then would knock Tyler out of his socks !
I don’t think she’s going to be seeing Tyler any time before prom. So it WILL be a surprise.
@EG
I thot Tyler and Daphne attended the same High School ?
Does Hannah Van Beek attend HS with Tyler or Daphne ?
She may “attend” school but how is her attendance?
You’re assuming that Daphne will attend school. Or does regularly attend school.
I assume that Daphne attends school sporadically, and only often enough to (usually) not fail.
@EG
If Hannah attends every day, and Tyler does, too, Daphne has already lost.
Absence does not make the heart grow fonder, and familiarity does not breed contempt.
Well, I’m not saying it’s the best strategy. Just that it’s A strategy.
I LOVE Daphne’s ears in this strip!!
I have fun with ears.
Okay . . . this is good . . .
I am pleased that you approve.
Whoa, I just noticed, in the last panel, Phoebe almost looks like she’s praying! How ironic is that?! 😯
She’s wringing her hands. Phoebe never prays. Nor takes the Lord’s name in vain, nor makes any reference to the Christian faith. I’ve been very careful to avoid such things.
@EG, I see now that she started wringing her hands in the previous panel. Fortunately, Daphne seems to be willing to go along with her new look ( although tentatively). That would make me a happy customer. 🙂
I’d always assumed that Daphne had a flat, smooth coat, something like a boxer or beagle.
Cartoon characters often have features that can’t be translated into 3D effectively. Since we’re talking about hair, Mike from Dumbing of Age would be a case in point.
I wasn’t aware that Mickey Mouse’s omnidirectional ears were any particular secret?
I’ve always assumed that Daphne had a mostly flat, smooth coat too.
I try to aim for a largely 3D-friendly design. My stuff is generally lacking in the stylized 2D-only design flourishes, except for the eyebrows. My characters’ eyebrows almost always float off the head and regularly extend out into the air.
I was curious what her hair was going to end up looking like.
It bothers me that this hair style both fits her AND doesn’t at the same time.
It’s a contradiction and it both bothers me and I love it.
…Curse you, EG.
I’m glad that I can disappoint you in satisfying ways.
Personally I thought she looked better with the curly hair. But I do prefer curly hair so it might just be me.
The curly hair (in a slightly more controlled cut) may make a return. We’ll see.
Daphne is actually quite attractive with her hair straight and free like that. I bet that Tyler will notice, too.
That is the plan.
I KNEW there was a reason it crossed my mind. LOL.
Daphne is definitely easier on the eyes with her hair down, no denying that, but I doubt she’ll make a regular habit of having it straightened if she ever wears it down again. She’s putting herself through a lot of work simply to get Tyler’s attention back. This Heather Van-Dutch-girl who’s name I can’t quit remember that Tyler asked out to the Prom must be a stunner. I’m really curious to see how this all develops.
I’m really curious to see you see how all this develops.
Daphne’s hairstyle makes her butt look big.
(cat attempting to troll)
@SalemCat, when she’s at the prom, Daphne can distract folks from her butt by wiggling her ears. I’m sure she could attract quite a crowd by doing that! 🙂
@ChrisH
agreed….
But how would we know if any wiggling occurs ?
EG took a solemn vow 70 years ago to NEVER use Motion Lines.
I use blur fades, which are my preferred alternative to motion lines. But wiggling ears… In a still medium, very hard to communicate.
“Me is a total non-starter here!”
Today, you have taken the first step toward enlightenment, Daphne…
Well done, grasshopper, well done.
Enlightenment is the recognition that you aren’t good enough? Depressing, but probably correct.
The first step to enlightenment is realizing that enlightenment is not a destination, but instead a journey, well, that and realizing the only thing that one can know is to know that they know nothing. This isn’t a bad thing, though, for it is the empty bowl that is most useful.
Re: Voting incentive
Never cared a lot for the Wiggles, but Dragon Tales and Between the Lions was my jam when my kid was growing up. That and WWE. He loved watching Undertaker Choke Slam and Last Ride people, especially through tables.
The show they’re watching, while sounding like the Wiggles, is not actually the Wiggles. I really can’t stand the Wiggles for some reason.
The Wiggles was better than Teletubbies, by a mile. Kid also loved Dora, but not as much as Wrestling, for some reason. He just found it hilarious.
ElectricGecko If you could monetize your chat you would be set for life.
Livestream chatting? Where people just drop money in the virtual coffer? Hmmmm….
I love Daphne’s new look. She’ll definitely be turning heads. I wonder if this will fall into the law of 80’s movies where a nearly transforming tomboy will automatically be seen as better looking that any other girl.
And wow…twenty years….I’ve never seen a webcomic that has lasted this long. Kudos to you EG, keep ’em coming. We’re all behind you.
Thanks, man. And it must be noted that though Puck started twenty years ago, it hasn’t been running all that time. There were three years as a university comic, and then seven years as a webcomic much later, so about half that time. Apparently the webcomic ‘Kevin & Kell’ has been running – daily – since 1995, so that definitely beats me. But Puck is at least one of the older webcomics in existence. That much I can cling to.
I’m going to try to avoid most 80’s tropes in this story. I’m going to pull a Rian Johnson here and ‘subvert expectations’. Only in a less stupid way. I hope.
That’s a lot of honesty for a generation that was raised on Disney movies telling them to “always be yourself!”
I’m forever thinking of a few people I know who were, shall we say, inadequately parented. “But what if ‘yourself’ is absolutely horrible? What do you have against self-improvement, consideration for others, and restraint, Disney? Tell me!?!”
I don’t think Daphne watched much Disney.